Riddles

A riddle is only satisfying if the answer makes you feel foolish rather than cheated, which is why every one here comes with an explanation of why it works — not just the word on its own. There is a hint as well, written to nudge you rather than hand it over.

Five categories, twelve sets between them. Classic is the deepest at four sets, the ones most people half-remember. Hard Riddles leans on logic and letter tricks, and includes a family-relationship puzzle that has been catching people out since the nineteenth century. Funny Riddles are puns and fully expect groaning. Riddles for Kids stays on words a child already uses, while Riddles for Adults mostly works by planting an assumption in the first sentence and quietly relying on you not to question it.

Every set mixes difficulty rather than running flat, so a hard set still opens with something gentle. Each one has its own answers page with the explanations, free to read online or print.